CAIRO: An Egyptian court on Sunday sentenced to death 10 members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group found guilty of violence against security officers in 2015, a judicial source said.

The case will now be referred to the Grand Mufti, Egypt’s top theological authority — a formality in death penalty cases — before the court meets on June 19 to confirm the sentences. Of the 10 men, nine were in custody while one was sentenced in absentia, the source said.

They were accused of multiple incidents of violence against police in 2015 — a period that saw a spike in attacks targeting security forces.

Egypt outlawed the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood group in 2013 and designated it a terrorist organisation, following the military ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi.

General-turned-president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who led Morsi’s ouster, has since led a crackdown on the group, jailing thousands including its top leader as well as its rank and file.

Morsi died in custody in June 2019 after falling ill during a court hearing.

Cairo has handed down death sentences or long jail terms after mass trials that have drawn condemnation from the United Nations.

Capital punishment for civilian convicts in Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country, is carried out by hanging.

Egypt carried out the third highest number of known executions in the world last year, after China and Iran, according to Amnesty International.

Morsi’s rule was marked by deep divisions in Egyptian society, a crippling economic crisis and often-deadly opposition protests.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which was established in 1928, has touted itself as the main opposition movement in Egypt despite decades of repression. It has consistently denied any link to the violence the government accuses it of.

It has inspired spin-off movements and political parties across the Muslim world.

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2022